Scarlet
by SMYGO4EVA
Summary: Oneshot. Fai/Kurogane. Crimson marks all in the black tapestry. Takes place near the end of Acid Tokyo.


Scarlet  
By SMYGO4EVA

A flash of red and black, and it was crimson upon darkness.

They had been walking towards the dark and cavernous reservoir in the underground when Kurogane had grabbed hold of Fai's arm and dragged him into a nearby corridor. The magician had thought that the warrior was taking him to the reservoir in another way, but it was then that Kurogane had roughly shoved Fai up against the wall, anger in his slitted eyes.

Fury filled Kurogane's eyes.

They have become so red that they momentarily remind Fai of the color of blood, the crimson that had spilled just hours before.

He shivered.

"Stop it." Kurogane growled, his form looming over that of the cursed magician.

Fai froze, hearing his heart thud in his chest, almost to burst at any second. But his face painted the indifference that he had felt from the inside out.

His eye twitched, but he narrowed it, a soft blue glow freezing over in the orb.

"Stop, what, Kurogane?" He muttered, his usual high and lilting voice low and almost monotone, reflecting his indifference of the warrior at this point.

The warrior stiffened at first, and then his brows furrowed, his eyes becoming filled with a mix of annoyance and disgust.

"Pathetic. You're absolutely pathetic." Kurogane spits the words out as if they were acid on his tongue. Fai knew this wasn't a good sign; most people scream and shout when they're angry, but Kurogane was very, very quiet. The warrior had the kind of cold anger that was the hardest to predict, or avoid in that matter.

He was used to it by now.

Again, he states in a steady tone. "What makes you think that?"

"You haven't changed. Not one fucking bit. I know that deep down you're thinking that everything in the world is still your fault," Kurogane continued, getting more irritated by the second, "and that you should die because of it. Don't you know that your dying doesn't change anything? You would be doing more damage than good, asshole. You should know that."

Fai lithely slinks away from Kurogane's grasp, dusting himself off, his one eye cast to the rubble around them. "Would it be so bad if I did? I'm only doing my best, but I'm afraid I'm not doing enough."

The warrior glared at the magician. He whispers, "Piece of shit. The others need you now more than ever. You're only thinking about yourself."

The mage felt his breath caught in his throat, his blood suddenly ice cold. At that moment, even for a second, he wished he would take those words back, but deep down, he knew he never could.

There, he couldn't take them back. And the words were the absolute truth; he was too afraid for the meaning behind them to be realized.

It was amusing, really, almost expected of him.

Fai let a small chuckle escape from his lips, the noise both confusing and irking to Kurogane, who was still staring angrily at him.

"The difference, Kurogane, is that until the time calls for it, I never take things seriously. You, on the other hand…"

The magician walked back to the warrior, reaching out suddenly, tracing a finger across the taller man's lips and peering at him as though he was an interesting piece of artwork.

It was a look the warrior had seen the mage adopt many times, but it has never been directed at him before.

Kurogane was too stunned to flinch away from him, his fists clenched and eyes narrowed as his stomach tied into conspicuous knots. He stared into the mage's one sapphire eye, which wasn't sapphire anymore; it was a strange dark yellow, golden, like a cat's.

Fai smiled, his expression slightly predatory, slightly feral and more than enough to make Kurogane uneasy, in both body and mind. What exactly was going on here?

In a blink of an eye, the mage seemed to switch back to his former disposition. His voice, though still in monotone, held another timbre to it somehow as he said, "I wouldn't worry too much about me if I were you. I'll be fine. You do what you have to."

With that, Fai walked away, leaving the stunned Kurogane in his wake. It took a bit to shake him out of his stupor, but he soon followed, having no idea what just happened.

That seemed to be happening a lot these days.

As words upon a human being, crimson marks all in the black tapestry.


End file.
